A judge told a drug-addicted son who left his father’s dead body to rot for three weeks so he could get his hands on his wages that he had "kept quiet" about his father's death "to keep the money to fund drugs coming in".

Kieron West was convicted at a recent trial of preventing the lawful and decent burial of postman Peter West, between May 25 and June 20. He was jailed today for 40 months.

The 36-year-old's then partner, Emma Hicken, who admitted to the same offence, was jailed for a total of 21 months.

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Sentencing at Leicester Crown Court, Judge Philip Head told West: “I’m sure you persisted in denials because you couldn’t bring yourself to confront and accept what you had, or had not, done with the corpse of your own father.”

He said the house was described as “disgustingly squalid” during the trial, last month.

The judge said: “Both you and Emma Hicken were addicted to heroin and crack-cocaine.”

He told West: “You told the jury your father had moved in to try and help you.

Leicester Crown Court

“Both you and he had wages paid into the same bank account, but it was you who had the bank card and you provided him with some cash for his few wants, whilst you spent the majority on drugs for you and Emma Hicken.

“Your father kept himself to himself.

“He had diabetes and, despite undergoing four separate operations to have toes removed, he continued working.

“You depended on the continuing wages from your job as a fork lift driver and his job, as well as pay-day loans, to keep buying drugs.”

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The court heard that when he died, Peter West was off work recovering from his latest toe amputation operation but was still receiving his £350-a-week Royal Mail salary.

During Kieron West’s trial, Mary Loram, prosecuting, told the jury that West and Hicken left the deceased’s body in his bedroom “until it rotted quite literally” and failed to notify anyone of the death.